


Proscription

by Dyeity



Series: Splice Narratives [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Euthanasia, Genetic Engineering, Genetically Engineered Beings, Medical Procedures, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Prequel, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:40:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27034330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dyeity/pseuds/Dyeity
Summary: A crusade against splicing (lead primarily by religious institutions who believed it was an affront to God to tamper with His creatures in such a way; viewed splices themselves as monstrosities) eventually led to the prohibition of the study, though their efforts did surprisingly coincide with humanitarian groups, who succeeded in arguing for the experiments themselves.In the following weeks, Splices capable of higher thought were given names and tooth chips, spent typically about 6 months in integration centers (ICs), learning to be “a part of society” before being dropped in their govt provided housing units, which were concentrated in sunken cities due to lesser costs (particularly on the sublevels, where Splices are pretty much regulated now).Atlas has 3 ICs in the northwest, the northeast, and the south.  They have all since been converted into detention centers.
Series: Splice Narratives [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1920862





	Proscription

Cold.

So very cold.

Numb and burning and dark.

I...am...cold. It hurts. I try to breath, to open my eyes, but something is lodged in my throat-- choking me-- and I can’t move my eyelids. I can’t move anything.

Panic. Gagging. I was dead. No, wrong. I’m dying. Suffocating, paralyzed. Pins and needles spread everywhere. Asleep. I was asleep for a very long time. I can’t breath. My fingers twitch.

My eyes flick open and the light is too bright. Murmurs finally begin to gain coherence, form words, but I still can’t understand. Bits and pieces that hold little meaning.

“Alive.”

“Stable.”

“Waking.”

There’s people. Don’t they know I’m dying? Every inch of my body is scalding, like I’ve been thrown into a fire. Why aren’t they helping me? My eyes dart around but I can’t see anything, it’s still too bright. 

I’m choking.

“Can’t we speed this up?”

There’s a sharp pinch in my forearm. Heat floods through my limbs and I can hear my heart thud against my ribcage in protest. Had it been still before? There’s a rush in my veins, and with it comes mobility.

Jolting upright, I can see all the white-masked faces in the room. I claw at my throat. There’s nothing but skin. Frantic, I grab at my mouth and find a thick tube. I yank at it. The white-masks shout at me but I continue to pull. The tube slithers up my throat, coming free and landing in my lap, like a slimy, multi-headed snake. I fling it away and my stomach turns. I start to retch but nothing comes out, so I gulp down air instead.

The world around me continues to gain clarity; the doctors, the smooth examination table, the tears streaming down my clammy face. Violent shivers wrack my body as I gasp and pant. The white-masks start to close in. Their touch is rough and painful. Screeching fills the room. I try to pull away, but my blood feels thick. This time, I see the needle they stick me with. 

* * *

I’d heard about the new law. I was in the tube when the police pushed their way through the lab and confronted the lead White-mask. Her yelling managed to penetrate the three-inch thick glass and the liquid. I’d never seen her so mad. I was scared, as she’d been examining me at the time, and still held the tube’s controls in her clenched fists. Anything from delivering an electric shock to making the liquid unbreathable could be done with a push of a button. She was still ranting after they’d gone, throwing things, pointing fingers, and I only found out why when the assistants put me back in my cage. They were upset because it would probably cost them their jobs, so they took some time out of their lunch break for stress relief. They left the brunt of the anger with me, in the form of large bruises and ringing ears. It would be a lie to say I hardly felt it, but my mind had other things to grapple with outside of the usual aches and pains. I knew what the law meant. It meant salvation. 

I’d learned salvation from the religious White-mask who’d pray for me every so often. Sometimes just a short, quick blessing and other times a long declaration of something more. Seemed pointless to me --if he wanted to give me more, all he had to do was unlock the cage-- but other White-masks only took that kind of personal time to throw punches, not empty words, so I couldn’t complain. He disappeared not long before the officers came to shut down the lab. I don't know what he thought of when he gave me that word. I kept it with hope. 

The law meant they’d either deem me human and free me, or they’d decide otherwise and kill me. I didn’t know which I wanted. Either way, it was an end to this life and that I wanted more than anything.

The lights came on.

The room had two kinds of cages: full and tri. Full cages were little cells of sterile white, each outfitted with a thin sleeping-sponge and an even thinner blanket. Tri cages were set into the wall, stacked atop each other in threes. Those only got blankets. All cages had clear, airtight doors which allowed each to be set to individual parameters. There was one row of double-sided full cages in the center of the room, twenty in all. I’d never gotten the chance to count the tri cages, but they lined most of the walls.

I sat up on the sleeping-sponge and started counting the tiny holes in the ceiling again. Multiple sets of footsteps clicked faintly, their sources invisible as they made their way down the opposite side of the aisle. A loud sigh pushed through the air.

“This is the last one, and it shouldn’t take long anyways. The tri cells aren’t even worth consideration. Honestly, none of it is.”

“My orders are to--” 

“Yeah, I get it, but I told you before,” It sounded like the white-mask who led the test when the lead was away. He favored respiration tests. You’d think watching someone almost drown would get boring after the fifth time. He kept on, “Tri cells are for animal-based splices. I know you have to check for humanity, or whatever, but there isn’t any in there.”

There was a long pause.

“Fine. Get on with it, then.” The not white-mask replied. Moments later, banging came from all around the room. The few who were capable of it shrieked. Someone swore, and the noise cut off sharply.

“Oops.” White-mask laughed, “I’ll turn on the noise dampener.”

“You said it was humane!” 

“It is when you press the right button. Mistakes happen, though.”

“I liked you better when you were moping.” disgust dripped from not white-mask’s voice, “No wonder this program is being shut down, with people like you in it.”

“Don’t get all self-righteous on me, Mr. gunman. How many actual people have you killed with that pretty piece on your belt?”

Silence.

“Thought so. Don’t get your panties in a bunch, there’s nothing but monsters here.”

“At least you hold no illusions about yourself.”

“Hardy har, an officer of the law and a comedian. You must have to beat the women off with a stick.”

“Let’s just get this over with.” not white-mask snapped, earning a dry chuckle.

I closed my eyes and tried to swallow the lump in my throat. The noise dampener must only work one way, because I heard every order of execution.

“Splice 202, deemed inhuman.”

“Splice 340, deemed inhuman.”

“Splice 005,”

“Splice 413,”

“Inhuman.”

“Inhuman.”

“Inhuman.”

My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

I didn’t count down to my turn, but when it came, I knew anyway. I opened my eyes and through the glass saw the two men, one in white and the other in blue. White-mask made a face too lazy to be a sneer or a grimace, but obviously a look of dissatisfaction. The blue man leaned in, though, interested. I pull the blanket tight around me. 

“Splice 137, inhuman.” White-mask said, going to pull up the interface, but the blue man stopped him.

“Are you sure? Looks pretty human to me.” He asked. “She looks afraid.” 

“It always looks like that, it’s just its face. Trust me, this one is dumber than a dog.” 

The blue man looked at him with scrutiny and the white-mask gave an exasperated sigh.

“If you want to ask your stupid questions, be my guest. It won’t make a difference though, the thing won’t answer you.” White-mask stepped back and held out his arm. The blue man knelt in front of the glass so he was about eye level with me. He looked...soft.

“Hey there,” he said, his voice calm and inviting. “Do you understand me?”

I stared at him, frozen. He frowned. 

“Yes? No?” As he said each word, he nodded a different way. The white-mask sighed again. I continued to stare. The blue man tapped the glass, and I jolted, but did nothing else. 

“See? I told you, dumb.” 

“Whatever, just get on with it.” the blue man said, sounding almost disappointed. 

This was it. This was salvation. No more experiments, no more beatings, no more anything. Would it be like sleeping? I hoped it wouldn’t be like hibernation, with nothing but darkness and the barest hints of ice. It would be better than this. Anything was better than this. Still, I couldn’t keep my heart from creeping up into my throat as I watched the white mask pull up the interface and click through the options until he reached the right display.

Something bothered me about it. I’d never seen another experiment terminated before, but I knew the shape of that screen well. It was the screen they used every time they needed to move me. I looked at the white-mask, and he smiled at me, the sort of smile they gave when they know they’ve pushed me too far, right before they put me under and make me start all over again. My head felt heavy. They wouldn’t let me go, they would never let me go. My stomach churned, and I was seized by a sudden panic. 

I stumbled and scrambled across the floor like I’d been electrocuted.

“WAIT!” In my rush and inexperience, the cry was almost unintelligible. The blue man jumped back in shock as my foot caught on the blanket and I thudded against the glass. The white mask just stood there, staring down at me in shock. 

“I understand! See, I understand! You understand? I understand!” I thought my heart had finally escaped my throat, falling out of my mouth in a slur of all the words I’d hoarded in my chest. My eyes were fixed on the blue man, but I could see the White-Masks face darken with an anger that burned. I couldn’t breath. I pounded on the glass.

“Please! Not inhuman, not inhuman, please…” My pounding weakened, and I rested my forehead against the cold surface. 

“Open the door...Open the door right now!”

“Hold on, I really don’t think that’s a good--Wait, wait, alright! Alright! Back off!”

The door slid open with a  _ whoosh _ and I slumped forward, hitting my head on the floor.

“If it mauls your face off, it’s your problem.”

I struggled to get an arm under me, when one of them touched my shoulder. I jerked away from it as much as I could, which wasn’t much. Blue man picked me up off the ground, and the contact made my skin crawl. There was nothing I could do, so I just let myself go limp. The white-mask was glaring as the Blue Man took me out of the room, but I could’ve sworn there was something besides seething rage in his face, a trace of indecision. He wanted to stop the Blue Man, but couldn’t, and he hated it. He hated me. 

The Blue Man carried me down the hallway, to a group of others in blue. They made a bit of a commotion as he neared them, sounds of shock and even some anger, but my head was swimming too much to follow any of it. Someone grabbed me. I flinched, and they let go. Fervent chatter. I was fading, and soon all I could see was white and blue. So much blue. I’d never seen the front of the labs before, never passed through the doors that were now before me. I heard them slide open, heard the chatter of a lot of people at a distance, like a low hum, and then I was warm. I couldn’t hold my eyes open anymore, but there was so much light, it shone through. 


End file.
